Faculty Research Presentations
The Faculty Research Presentations page at Seattle University's Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture proudly showcases the diverse and impactful research conducted by our esteemed faculty members. Explore upcoming events where scholars share their latest findings and insights across a range of disciplines, fostering a vibrant academic community. Whether you are a student, faculty member, or simply a curious visitor, join us to engage with innovative ideas and contribute to the ongoing dialogue at the intersection of faith, culture, and education. Discover more about our events and how you can participate in advancing knowledge and understanding in our community.
Research Presentations
Using Behavioral Economics to Assess Public Support for Improvements on Environmental Preservation
Dr. Meenakshi Rishi, PhD, Professor, Albers School of Business and Economics
Thursday, May 16, 2024
Pigott 205
- Laudato Si': 183
Laudato Si' underlines the intertwined relationship between human welfare and the state of the environment. Traditional approaches to sustainability often neglect this interconnectedness, leading to fragmented solutions that fail to address root causes. Environmental impact assessment methodologies play a crucial role in evaluating the consequences of human actions on the environment. These assessments are vital for informing policy decisions, project evaluations, and legal cases involving environmental damages. Air quality is an example- without an assessment of the value individuals place on clean air, insufficient funds are being allocated to deal with air pollution and the air-quality problems have not been resolved. Thus, impact assessment methodologies play a crucial role in valuing the environment to evaluate the consequences of environmental policies. This project focuses on the use of the Willingness to Pay (WTP) method to assess the value humans place on environmental preservation such as clean air initiatives. WTP estimates can provide guidelines for budgetary allocations for environmental policies.
Understanding Embodiment: A Critical Connection for Improving Human and Environmental Health Under Laudato Si' in the Anthropocene
Dr. Jennifer Fricas, PhD, MPH, RN, Assistant Professor, College of Nursing
Wednesday, May 8, 2024
Boeing Room (122), Lemieux Library
In today’s Anthropocene, the context of increasing environmental degradation accompanies ongoing ill and worsening human health, both disproportionately affecting the most marginalized humans and environmental spaces among us. Embodiment is a complex concept with the potential to help health professionals understand integral ecology, and the importance of the Laudato Si’ platform, to which Seattle University is committed. Embodiment is also a potential pathway for enacting a truly holistic view of health as framed by Indigenous knowledges and Catholic Intellectual Tradition principles, which both honor “the accumulated wisdom of the past.” In this presentation, Dr. Fricas will share findings from an initial literature review of the concept of embodiment, contextualize these with data from research into well-being in Ecuador, and discuss implications for the education of health professionals.
How to Go Forth and Set the World on Fire without Burning Out
Dr. Amelia Seraphia Derr, Associate Professor, Social Work, and Director, Bachelor of Social Work Program
Friday, May 12, 2023
Zoom
As students consider a career in social work/social justice, they are both drawn to it and daunted by the realities of well-documented stressors. Social Workers face one of the highest burnout rates of any profession and this has become even more severe over the course of the pandemic. After almost three years of COVID, there is a staggering need for mental healthcare and other supportive services, a significant loss of funding for social service agencies, and a radical shift in the way services are delivered. This has had a profound effect on all those working in this field, including social work students. A recent study found that 80% of social work students reported the pandemic had a negative impact on their own mental health (Council on Social Work Education, 2021). This project addresses the question of how to respond to this crisis through educating social workers in ways that build radical resilience and help sustain their commitment to social justice work. I examine current practices in social work education related to building resilience and capacity for social workers and offer customized best practices in educating students for sustained and generative careers. Though this presentation is geared towards social work students/curriculum, it is relevant to all our students at Seattle University.
The St. Joan’s Alliance and the Shaping of the International Women
Dr. Nova Robinson, History and International Studies
Thursday, October 13, 2022
Hunthausen Hall 100
This talk will explore the impact Catholic feminist thought had on the development of the international women’s rights system between 1920 and 1960. St. Joan’s, a feminist Catholic organization, was founded in London in 1911 to encourage Catholic women to support the fight for suffrage in the United Kingdom. The organization later spread throughout the British Empire and took up the larger cause of women’s equality. Given its global reach, it was well positioned to participate in conversations about international women’s rights at the League of Nations and later the United Nations. Unlike some of the major secular women’s organizations, such as the International Council on Women or the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, St. Joan’s advocated for representation from the colonized world.